Solana NFT total sales volume crosses $1 billion

Non-fungible token (NFT) sales on the Solana blockchain surpassed $1 billion in all-time total volume this month for the first time, according to the NFT sales tracker CryptoSlam!

Solana-based NFTs gained in popularity in the latter part of 2021 as Ethereum, the most popular blockchain for NFTs, experienced prohibitively high transaction fees.

 The first Solana NFT to break $1 million occurred on September 11, for a Degenerate Ape Academy NFT — part of a collection of 10,000 algorithmically generated 3D primates. The most expensive Solana NFT sold for $2.1 million nearly a month later.

Solana’s highest weekly trade volumes reached $160.39 million on August 29, 2021, according The Block's Data Dashboard. However, trading volumes for Solana-based NFTs still pale in comparison with the Ethereum-based market, and Solana lacks high-profile NFT projects akin to Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks.

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Nonetheless, healthy investment in the Solana NFT space has continued into the new year, as seen with the NFT protocol Metaplex raising $46 million through a SAFT sale on January 18.


Correction: This story has been updated to mention that Solana-based NFTs surpassed $1 billion in all-time total sales volumes and not in January 2022.

About Author

MK Manoylov has been a reporter for The Block since 2020 — joining just before bitcoin surpassed $20,000 for the first time. Since then, MK has written nearly 1,000 articles for the publication, covering any and all crypto news but with a penchant toward NFT, metaverse, web3 gaming, funding, crime, hack and crypto ecosystem stories. MK holds a graduate degree from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP) and has also covered health topics for WebMD and Insider. You can follow MK on X @MManoylov and on LinkedIn.